September 27, 2026, 5:21 am | Read time: 4 minutes
On September 22, 2026, it was that time again in Berlin: The TRAVELBOOK Award was presented–naming the trend travel destinations for the coming year. Included was a prize for the most extraordinary city beach worldwide. In this category, five candidates were shortlisted in advance: English Bay Beach in Canada, Haeundae Beach in South Korea, Mole Beach in Namibia, Portugal’s Praia de Matosinhos, and Playa de San Lorenzo in Spain. We introduce the latter in this text.
Playa de San Lorenzo in Spain
The one-and-a-half-kilometer-long and approximately 110-meter-wide sandy beach Playa de San Lorenzo is located in northern Spain, specifically in Gijón. It belongs to the Spanish region of Asturias and, according to their tourism information, is their most popular beach. Situated in the Bay of Gijón, it borders the Cimavilla district to the west and the Río Piles to the east. The golden beach is the largest and oldest of its kind in the city and is located in close proximity to its center.
Along Playa de San Lorenzo stretches a nearly three-kilometer-long beach promenade, called “El Muro.” In its western part, an impressive stone staircase from 1933 leads directly to the beach: the iconic La Escalerona. Along the fortified beach promenade are houses that include restaurants and taverns.
Additionally, there are numerous facilities on the beach itself. These include showers, foot wash basins, and toilets, as well as rentals for sun loungers, umbrellas, and water sports equipment. Accessible facilities are available in the form of ramps, toilets, and parking spaces. Between May and October, Playa de San Lorenzo in Spain is monitored by lifeguards.
What can you experience at Gijón’s popular city beach?
Asturias’ Playa de San Lorenzo is considered one of the most beautiful of its kind in the region and the country–and is accordingly popular. Especially in the summer months, bathers flock to the city beach for swimming or sunbathing. The beach is also well-suited for sand sports such as soccer or volleyball. There are two beach volleyball courts and facilities for beach soccer. However, the tourism office informs that sand sports are otherwise prohibited between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
In addition to bathers, surfers and wave surfers also come to the Bay of Gijón. They can try their skills on the moderate to strong waves outside the swimming area. The bay also offers opportunities for kayaking, as well as jet skiing, motorboating, and sailing. Walkers are also abundant at Gijón’s city beach itself, as well as on its nearly twice as long beach promenade.
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Getting There
Since Playa de San Lorenzo is just about one kilometer from the city center of Gijón, it can be reached on foot, depending on your starting point. Buses also run there.
Methodology for the TRAVELBOOK Award
Again this year, we say it: All nominated regions, countries, and others for the TRAVELBOOK Award are already winners. Even if they didn’t achieve overall victory. This also applies to Playa de San Lorenzo in Spain. Because: Every insider travel destination has already made it to the shortlist in advance, having been selected from a large number of candidates in a category.
The TRAVELBOOK editorial team asked the community on Facebook and Instagram for help and consulted experts from the travel industry to create the shortlist. For the first time this year, not only TRAVELBOOK readers but also BILD readers voted. In total, more than 150,000 votes were cast to determine the trend travel destinations for 2027.